Couch Surfing

House exchanges are great for home-owning vacationers but what if you don’t own one? What if the only thing you have to offer is a couch? And what if the only thing you want in exchange is a couch? For the penny-conscious traveler who thinks it’d be more sociable (and less of an ordeal) to crash on a couch rather than camp out (and rough it), CouchSurfing.org is for you.

CouchSurfing.org is a great web site that acts like a social networking tool to bring people and couches together. It’s free to use and prohibits members from charging others to surf their couch. Easy world-wide searches can lead you to amicable couches (the quality of which will vary) almost anywhere you’d like to explore. In return, you offer what you can although if you don’t have a couch to share, you aren’t banned from participating.  It’s idealistic, economical, sociable and exciting but you still need to take precautions. There are some built-in safety features including a verification process (confirmation of identity and physical location), references (experiences with other couch surfers) and vouching (where users vouch for other members that they know are trustworthy). Since the “accommodations” aren’t 100% guaranteed, shit can sometimes fall through the cracks so always have a back-up plan (like an emergency hostel allowance).

Now if you can afford a little bit of money, you can find a for sure place to stay (whether it be a couch, a shared room or a whole apartment) with the help of Airbnb.com. Members post listings of their available space on the site and travelers search these posts to find exactly what suits their needs. Travelers then send a reservation request to the hosts which they (the hosts) either accept or decline. If they accept, the reservation is immediately booked and the travelers pay directly online using a credit card or PayPal account. Both parties receive contact info and that’s it! Airbnb also uses the same type of safety features as CouchSurfing.org, so you don’t have to worry too much about hosts with Ed Gein complexes.

Message boards are also a good way to hook up with sympatico couch situations since users usually share similar interests (like music, spirituality, sports, etc.). Additionally, if you’ve built up a large list of friends, a MySpace bulletin, Facebook post or Twitter tweet might connect you with a place to rest your head. Finally, Craigslist also lists hook-up possibilities, but it is in no way as efficient (or as safe) as the other sites.

Take your chances and you just may be able to afford that trip around the globe!